Top Pick

1. Cincinnati Bengals (+2) vs. Hou – See money line bet.

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2. San Francisco 49ers (-9) vs. Was – RGIII is horrible and will find the going that much tougher facing a stingy 49ers D in San Francisco. The 49ers have offensive troubles of their own but this will not be much of a contest.

3. Arizona Cardinals (+7) vs. Sea – The Seahawks should win, but their strength – running the ball – plays directly into the hands of Arizona. The Cardinals stop the run with the best of them. Look for a low scoring affair that is close throughout.

4. St. Louis Rams (+4.5) vs. SD – The Rams defense, which entered the season with so much promise, is now starting to realize it. They played lights out against the Broncos a week ago. They face a beat up Chargers team and a hurting QB. Look for the Rams to pull off the upset in SD.

Rounding things out

New England Patriots (-7) vs. Det – The Lions D always keeps things close but there are real issues along their offensive line. Look for New England to exploit this.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+6) vs. Chi – Lovie Smith and Josh McCown will come back to Chicago and give their former team a run for their money.

Minnesota Vikings (+10) vs. GB – The Pack crushed Minnesota last time in Lambeau. It’ll be closer this time.

Money Line Bet

Cincinnati Bengals (+110) vs Hou – Cincinnati’s problems stemmed from some key injuries on D. They’re starting to get healthier on that side of the ball and will cover the point spread and beat the Texans this week. Ryan Mallett will struggle on this day.

12. Jay Cutler, Chi – The Bears D should put the Bears in a lot of high scoring affairs. Cutler has a tremendous duo to throw to and will once again finish a low end No. 1.

13. Tony Romo, Dal – The Cowboys OL is solid, and Bryant is continuing to flourish as a No. 1. Romo will notch 30 TDs and should be in a lot of high scoring games due to a woeful D.

14. Nick Foles, Phi – Look for a significant step back this year. The league will have a year’s worth of tape on Chip Kelly’s offense and it’ll be tough for Foles to replicate last year’s stellar season. Desean Jackson is now gone which takes away the deep threat.

15. Russell Wilson, Sea – The kid will continue to get better, and a healthy WR Percy Harvin will help. However, this will still be a team that wins on running and D.

16. Ben Roethlisberger, Pit – Big Ben is a back-up or spot starter. He will have some big games, but won’t be as consistent as a No. 1 should be.

17. Andy Dalton, Cin – Another year into his development and another year for AJ Green. Dalton, like Roethlisberger, will be too inconsistent to rely on as a No. 1 but a solid spot starter.

18. Eli Manning, NYG – The Giants offense received a complete makeover. The new system will help Eli and Co. but he is a No. 2 FFL QB until performance says otherwise.

19. Carson Palmer, Arz – There are plenty of weapons in Arizona, but the NFC West is brutal. Six of his games he can’t be trusted as a starter.

20. Joe Flacco, Bal – He’s a fantasy sleeper this year. They brought in Steve Smith which will take pressure off of Torrey Smith, and Dennis Pitta is back. He could end up a top 12 FFL QB end of year.

1. Seattle Seahawks (-7) vs. NYG – The Giants tend to mail it in after being eliminated from the playoffs. Look for Seattle to clinch the NFC West with a convincing win on Sunday.

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2. Miami Dolphins (+1) vs. NE – The loss of TE Rob Gronkowski cannot be minimized. He was the engine that really made this offense work. Miami is playing better the past few weeks and always play the Patriots well in Miami.

3. San Francisco 49ers (-6) vs. TB – There is always concern of a letdown, but we don’t see it here. The 49ers D will smother rookie QB Mike Glennon and the Bucs offense all afternoon. The 49ers will easily cover the point spread with a double digit win.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (+2.5) vs. Cin – See money line bet.

Rounding things out

St. Louis Rams (+6.5) vs. NO – The Saints are not that good on the road and the Rams play much better at home.

Cleveland Browns (+1) vs. Chi – The Bears are gambling going back to Jay Cutler at this point. The Browns are playing tough.

Carolina Panthers (-11.5) vs. NYJ – We expect the Geno Smith of Week’s 11-13 to show up on Sunday against a ferocious D at home. Not the one from a week ago.

Money Line Bet

Pittsburgh Steelers (+120) vs. Cin – The Steelers Playoff chances are extremely slim, but there is still a chance. They’ll turn the tables on the Bengals in their home park and capitalize on a few QB Andy Dalton mistakes.

1. Green Bay Packers (-3) vs. Min – The Packers know if they win they get the No. 2 seed. Plenty of incentive to go all out. Look for the Vikings who have played well in recent weeks to come up short against the Packers potent offense.

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2. San Francisco 49ers (-16.5) vs. Arz – They still need a win to lock down the NFC West after Sunday’s debacle. And they’re facing Brian Hoyer at QB. Look for SF in a rout.

3. Philadelphia Eagles (+7) vs. NYG – This is likely Andy Reid’s last game as head coach and they’re catching a Giants team which suddenly seems to have lost interest.

4. New Orleans Saints (-5.5) vs. Car – 8-8 will be quite an accomplishment for a Saints team that started off 0-4 after Bountygate.

The Rest

Denver Broncos (-16) vs. KC – The Broncos know that with a win they lock up the No. 2 seed. They’ll win 30-10.

Washington Redskins (-3) vs. Dal – The Cowboys haven’t fared well recently in big games or cold weather games.

Cincinnati Bengals (+3) vs. Bal – Joe Flacco’s been a bum on the road and Baltimore has the AFC North locked up.

1. Kurt Warner

Warner had a tremendous season in 2008. Playing with a wealth of talent at the receiver position, and on a team which abandoned the run, the 37-year old vet threw for more than 4,500 yards and 30 TDs, much to fantasy owners’ delight.

A repeat of those numbers in 2009 will be hard to duplicate however. First, there’s always the Super Bowl hangover, and second, there have been some key losses to personnel. The selection of RB Beanie Wells in the first round also suggests that the team will be more committed to the run, so look for between 3,600-3,900 yards and 25-28 TDs.

2. Matt Hasselback

Hasselback suffered through a miserable 2008 season and missed a lot of time battling a lingering injury. He finished with just 1,200 yards and five TDs in seven games.

This year, he should be healthy once again, so now it’s a matter of getting back in sync with his receivers and quickly developing a rapport with T.J. Houshmandezadeh.

Blessed with an extremely easy  schedule, look for another 3,000-yard season and 20 TDs.

3. Marc Bulger

Bulger suffered through a miserable 2008 campaign as well, at one point being benched by then head coach, Scott Linehan. He finished with a little more than 2,700 yards and 11 TDs.

And this year, a familiar face will no longer be there: Torry Holt, who was a salary cap casualty.

While second-year receiver Donnie Avery does provide promise, look for the Rams to rely heavily on the running game and for Bulger’s numbers to remain middle of the pack: 3,000 yards and 15-18 TDs.

4. Shaun Hill

In 2008, once the J.T. O’sullivan experiment came to an end, which also coincided with the firing of Mike Nolan, Hill came on and finished with more than 2,000 yards and 13 TDs in just eight games.

This year, he has even more firepower at the skill positions. The Niners used the 10th overall pick on Michael Crabtree. Second-year receiver Josh Morgan is raring to go, and there’s hope that Singletary will finally help Vernon Davis begin to realize his potential.

Look for Hill to throw for more than 2,750 yards and 18 TDs.

Draft Tip

Warner could be the fourth overall QB drafted, and gone by Round Four. Hasselback and Bulger are no longer considered quality fantasy starters and will fall past Round Eight. Hill, who could be a decent fantasy sleeper, will probably be around at the end, or as a waiver wire pick-up.

The Rams have apparently tabbed Jim Haslett to take over in the interim. It’s not a poor choice; he didn’t win consistently in New Orleans, but then again, he had Aaron Brooks as his QB. It was a toss of the coin when that guy took the field; one moment he’d play brilliantly and another he’d look like a 3rd string QB. He now takes over a team in a bit of disarray, but amazingly they’re only two games out of the division lead, and as evidenced by yesterday’s thrashing the Cards took at the hands of the Jets, the NFC West race is still wide open.